Perfect World Helps SteamVR Invade China

There's no confirmation on when the service will launch.

For PC gamers there are plenty of avenues to purchase titles digitally, yet the dominant platform most will use is Valve’s Steam. But Steam isn’t available everywhere, one core region yet to be tapped is China. However, Valve is working on that via a partnership with Chinese company Perfect World Co, Ltd.

Valve and Perfect World have announced an extension of their ongoing partnership which began back in 2012 as a strategic cooperation when Perfect World’s subsidiaries obtained the license to operate Valve’s DOTA 2, and later Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).

Along with the formation of Steam China will be the implementation of SteamVR for Chinese customers. The country is seen as a very important market for the virtual reality (VR) industry, for both manufacturers and developers alike. Most western companies struggle entering the Chinese market on their own, which is why most will enter a partnership to make the process easier – just look at Oculus and Xiaomi.

Robert H. Xiao, CEO of Perfect World said the company would introduce more games to China through Steam China, providing quality content and improving the experience for both gamers and developers.

Steam currently offers in the region of over 20,000 videogames created by developers across the globe, including over 3,000 VR titles using SteamVR technology. The partnership will provide Chinese gamers and developers with a new way to access Steam’s expansive selection of content and distribution. At present no release date for Steam China has been announced.

Steam is the primary outlet for HTC Vive (Viveport was introduced later) with Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality headsets also using the platform alongside their own official stores.